Cap brown to yellow brown or cinnamon brown, without scales; spore print rusty brown; partial veil forming a thin ring or a ring zone on the upper stem; stem less than 1 cm thick; often found in colder weather (spring or fall in temperate areas, winter in warmer climates).

Spore print brown to cinnamon or rusty brown but usually not bright orange-brown (Gymnopilus) or blackish to purplish brown (Hypholoma); spores smooth. The most commonly collected and wondered about species are large, showy mushrooms with scaly and/or slimy caps.

Spore print black; gills usually liquefying at maturity; smaller species short-lived and fragile; caps of larger species often shaggy or scaly, rounded-cylindrical when young and broadly bell-shaped in maturity.

Cap medium sized to large, usually whitish or brownish (rarely yellowish or orange), convex or flat; gills pale at first, then chocolate brown (sometimes after passing through a pink stage); spore print chocolate brown; partial veil present, usually leaving a ring or ring zone on the stem; some species bruising yellow or reddish on the cap margin and/or stem base when rubbed; many species reminiscent of the common Button Mushroom found in grocery stores.

Stem long and slender, typically fragile and snapping in two easily (Bob Zordani calls this genus "Snapyrella"); cap never brightly colored, often fragile and splitting with age; stem never bruising blue or green; rarely with a sturdy ring; spore print typically dark brown but sometimes darker.

Not as above; stem not usually snapping easily; cap brightly colored or not, sturdy or fragile and splitting in age; stem bruising blue or green in some species; with a sturdy ring or not; spore print typically deep purple-brown, purplish black, or black but sometimes dark brown.

Cap medium sized to large, usually whitish or brownish (rarely yellowish or orange), convex, squarish, or flat; gills pale at first, then usually pinkish and finally chocolate brown; spore print chocolate brown; partial veil present, usually leaving a ring or ring zone on the stem; some species bruising yellow or reddish on the cap margin and/or stem base when rubbed.

Spore print black; gills usually liquefying at maturity; smaller species short-lived and fragile; caps of larger species often shaggy or scaly, rounded-cylindrical when young and broadly bell-shaped in maturity.

Stem long and slender, typically fragile and snapping in two easily (Bob Zordani calls this genus "Snapyrella"); cap never brightly colored, often fragile and splitting with age; rarely with a sturdy ring.

Not as above (spore print brown or yellow-brown, but not rusty brown or cinnamon brown; cortina absent or present, but if present usually not leaving a ring zone or fibers on the stem at maturity).

40

40.

Cap convex or flat, typically brownish, usually fairly sturdy, measuring 8 cm or more, often slimy when fresh, the margin not typically splitting in age, the surface usually fairly smooth; some commonly encountered species with a radishlike odor.

Cap conical or bell-shaped, brownish or whitish, usually fairly fragile, measuring 8 cm or less, dry, the margin often splitting in age, the surface usually hairy or fibrous (at least in youth); many commonly encountered species with distinctive odors (spermatic, fishy, sweet, and so on--but never radishlike).

Galerina: Spore print yellowish brown to rusty brown. Partial veil evidence sometimes present. Spores usually warty; pileipellis a cutis; cheilocystidia usually present. See: Smith, A. H. & Singer, R. (1964). A monograph on the genus Galerina Earle. New York: Hafner. [This monograph treats 199 species of Galerina, most of which meet the description found in couplet 50, above. It relies heavily on microscopic features. An online version of the monograph is available here, at the University of Michigan.